


Zor-El Academy

by BlueStarOfTheSouth



Series: Brains over Brawn [5]
Category: Marvel (Comics), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Civil War Team Iron Man, Don’t copy to another site, Good! Ultron, One Shot Collection, Other Additional Tags to Be Added
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-15
Updated: 2019-04-19
Packaged: 2020-01-13 17:47:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18473962
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlueStarOfTheSouth/pseuds/BlueStarOfTheSouth
Summary: Zor-El Academy. Those that attend learn to use their gifts to protect the innocent, to become the next generation of heroes.A series of connected one-shots, following the events of the Academy.





	1. Enrolment

**Author's Note:**

> As the summery says, this fic is a series of connected one-shots, centred around the Academy, the students, the teachers, and random people that I pull in for one chapter.
> 
> Now, while all the characters I am introducing are from Marvel, they aren't necessarily from the MCU, as the series goes on i'll explain their edited backstories, so you know how it all works in this version. There's a short write up at the end, explaining who each character is. Fair warning if your a fan of one of them: some of them are "in name only" characters, as in they are that character in name only.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vril collects his new students.

**Laura**

 

“She's a threat to everyone around her!” The man declared for the fifth time. At this point they were just arguing in circles.

 

“And that is exactly why she should come with me.” Vril calmly rebutted. From his spot, leaning back in a chair across from the police officer that had brought in Vril's new student, Vril could see the girl, Laura, where she was trying to disappear into his cape, him having lent it to her before he started talking to the officer. There were three other officers watching her, each one twitching towards their guns each time she moved.

 

“She killed a man!” Third time. Honestly, did the man have _any_ new arguments?

 

“You watched the same video I did, that was self defence. There isn't a court in the world that would rule otherwise.” Vril's tone never lost the calm, almost bored, tone that he had carried throughout this whole event.

 

“She cannot be allowed to walk away free!” Seven. One of the girl's guards was looking a bit too twitchy for Vril's liking, better rap this up before someone gets hurt.

 

“So what are you going to _do_ with her? You can't put her in with other people, you claim she's a threat to everyone around her. You can't put her in solitary confinement, that would be cruel and inhumane, and my lawyers, I mean they're Tony Stark's lawyers but he lets me borrow them, would rip you apart. You only have one option: sign over the girl to me.” Vril smiled at the officer as he stood up.

 

The officer signed over the girl.

 

* * *

 

 

**Loki**

 

“So let me get this straight: Loki's alive? How did he manage that?” Vril asked while preparing a drink for his guest. He had seen a lot in his time, but this was definitely a new one.

 

“That's right, it appears even when he _does_ die he finds a way to live. Unfortunately I know not how this happened, but I do bring news on his condition.” Thor explained as he took his cup.

 

“And what's that?” Vril had seen Loki when he was brought in, and intended to perform some tests after Thor left. But for now he wanted to know Thor's thoughts on the matter.

 

“He remembers little of his old life, referring what memories he does possess as dreams and visions. He knows that they are true, and that it is him that he sees, but he does not truly remember them as one normally remembers things, likening it to reading something in a book.” Thor said. Well, that was interesting.

 

“Why bring him to me?” Because surely he would be safer with the people of Asgard, they were better equipped for this.

 

“Following the death of my father, and then the slaughters at the hands of Hela and Darkseid, my people have fallen on hard times. We will recover, we always do, but there are parties, violent and dangerous ones, that blame Loki for what has befallen us. I do not trust that he would be safe amongst our people.” The newly made king said.

 

That night, after the unopened school had fallen silent, Vril performed the first of what would become many software updates to the schools defence systems. Can never be too careful after all.

 

* * *

 

 

**Skaar**

 

“What do you want?” Hulk's voice rumbled. The two of them were working on the security at the Cube, Bruce's new lab. Hulk was doing the heavy lifting while Vril did the delicate work.

 

“A ship crashed in Utah.” Vril commented, welding a large panel into place.

 

“And what's that got to do with me?” Hulk asked as he fetched the next piece.

 

“There was a kid in it.” Vril said as he started welding.

 

“So?” Hulk was getting impatient, he really wasn't one for people dancing around issues.

 

“Kid said he was from Sakaar.” That made Hulk stop and look at Vril.

 

“What's his name?” Hulk didn't know a lot of people from Sakaar, but if Vril was here then he must have thought that Hulk had something to say.

 

“Skaar, son of Caiera Oldstrong and the Green Scar.” Hulk stood there for a moment, staring at nothing in particular. Eventually he realised that Vril was looking at him, waiting for a response.

 

“Take care of him.”

 

* * *

 

 

**Molly**

 

“It's an simple question: Do you want the headlines to read 'parents of Enhanced child take her back home where she cause's more property damage', or do you want them to read 'parents of Enhanced child get their child help'?” Honestly sometimes Vril enjoyed an easy fight, like this. He had quickly and easily outmanoeuvred the two doctors, and had all but claimed a new student.

 

“We just want the best for our little girl.” The female doctor said. Honestly, it was nice when people made it easy for him. Spending hours arguing got tiring.

 

“And this _is_ the best thing for her. She'll be somewhere that she can't hurt anyone, and she'll have friends that understand what it's like to be different.” Vril explained to them.

 

“If you're sure.” The male doctor said, clearly hesitant.

 

“I am. She'll be fine. I promise.”

 

“We just want her to be the best she can be. We want her to take pride in who she is.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In order...
> 
> Laura is Laura Kinney, AKA X-23. She's Wolverine's clone in the comics, here will probably be something to do with Hydra and Super Soldiers.
> 
> Loki is... well, Loki. More accurately Kid Loki, from the time Loki died and was reincarnated as a child.
> 
> Skaar is exactly who I said he was: Hulk's son. I am playing a bit loose with this one, as his mother doesn't appear in Ragnarok at all, but I wanted to have my own little Hulk on the team.
> 
> Molly is Molly Hayes AKA Princess Powerful. Again I am going to have to be a bit clever with her because she's a mutant. And mutants don't exist in the MCU (as of this writing, we'll see what happens after Endgame). But i'm sure I can work it out.
> 
> Also, not mentioned, but Ultron is also one of the students. So that's five (I really should have made this a 5 + 1 thing...)
> 
> And just as a reminder, this is a side thing I work on alongside my other stories, so expect infrequent updates.


	2. Sixteen, sixteen, nine, six, nineteen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> First day of combat training for the students.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love that I say this will be something I do on the side, but I update really fast.
> 
> So, the way I am building these characters is sort of cherry picking, I go through their various appearances in stuff and go "Oh, that's a neat idea", or "That's cool, I'll use that". So the students aren't based on any one version of them. That's sort of important, but not really. Mainly it's just as a warning, so I don't get angry comments about their backstories being "wrong".

“Welcome, students, to the Artificial Reality Chamber.” This was the introduction that Vril Dox, Headmaster of the Zor-El Academy, gave as he led his students into the large room that was below the academy proper.

 

The five students had been here for a week, and so far had done nothing but explore the academy. Mister Dox, as he was generally called by the staff, had wanted them to get settled in before they began.

 

“The Chamber is where you will practice for the physical side of hero work. From rescuing people from burning buildings, to fighting alien invasions, you will learn it all in this place.” The room in question was a large empty square chamber, done all in white panels. The round door they came in was on one side, with a glass window about three quarters of the way up another wall, the observation room.

 

“Now then, before we can move forward with your training, we need to find where you are starting from. Today will be single combat, so you can show off your skills and abilities.” Mister Dox turned an eye over the group, looking them over. Finally finding whatever it is that he was searching for he turned to the largest member of the team. “Skaar, would you like to go first?”

 

Skaar was intimidating to say the least. While he lacked his father's sheer bulk he was still very tall, towering over his classmates, something that his well muscled physique helped with. His dark hair, that hung loose around his face, and green skin clearly marked him as Hulk's son. He wore thick boots, dark pants, and a dark shirt.

 

“Yeah, alright. Been looking for a good fight since I landed on this rock.” He agreed, his deep voice echoing throughout the room.

 

“Alright then. If everyone else would follow me, we'll watch from the observation room.” With that Mister Dox led the group, minus Skaar, out of the Chamber.

 

* * *

 

 

“ _Are you ready, Skaar?”_ Mister Dox asked over the intercom. Skaar rolled his eyes, nodding in reply. A moment later his the Chamber activated, the white panels that made up the place folding back to reveal the inside of what looked like the Roman Colosseum. An iron gate at one end opened, and out walked Skaar's opponent. The opponent in question appeared to be a Knight, a foot soldier of the now decommissioned Iron Legion. It strolled out, walking directly towards Skaar, before stopping a few metres away.

 

“ _The chamber can create many battlegrounds and opponents for you to face.”_ Mister Dox explained. _“For the purposes of this test you may go all out, as I want to be able to judge you at your best.”_

 

That was just fine with Skaar, who proceeded to run at the mechanical foe and throw out a wild swing. The Knight didn't react in time, the attack landing on its face. Skaar was quick to capitalise on his advantage, ripping the head off of his foe.

 

“Is that it?” He asked the arena at large. After a moment another Knight walked out, moving to stand the same distance as the last. Rolling his eyes Skaar went for the same wild swing as before, but this time his opponent ducked under the attack, launching their own blow to his gut. Despite the hit Skaar was able to quickly defeat this foe too.

 

Again and again they came, each one learning from the failures of their predecessors, and soon Skaar found himself outclassed, and his winning streak was shattered.

 

“ _Good job, you reached round sixteen. Please exit the Chamber so someone else can have a go.”_

 

* * *

 

 

Ultron was next.

 

His new body looked like his virtual avatar, with blond hair and red eyes, with the biggest change being that he had aged himself up, now appearing thirteen years old as apposed to the previous ten. He wore light colours, silvers and greens mostly, with the crest of his house, three circles arranged in an upside down triangle connected by two lines inside a shield, on the front of his green hoodie.

 

He used his nanotech to form a round shield, hoping that it would be useful. It was, until round seven, where the Knight had launched a laser beam from its hand towards Ultron before he could act. This was a shock for two reasons, one was that this was the first time a Knight made the first move, they seemed to like waiting for an opening before attacking, and that this was the first time that a Knight had utilised any sort of ranged attack, always fighting hand to hand prior to this.

 

Ultron was forced to crouch down behind his shield, widening it slightly for added protection, as the Knight moved closer, never letting up its attack. When it came close, intending to finish him off, Ultron retaliated, stabbing out with a spear that he had quickly made.

 

After that the fighting got more and more intense, with the Knights now using ranged attacks, in an attempt to pin Ultron behind his shield, and the ever evolving strategies of that the Knights used it became harder and harder for Ultron to win.

 

He finally lost on round sixteen, managing to match Skaar's score.

 

* * *

 

 

Loki was the third to take on the challenge.

 

He was crafty in his approach, utilising illusions in an attempt to confuse the Knight. This strategy worked for the first eight rounds, but was shut down by the ninth Knight. The eyes of this Knight, unlike the Arc Reactor blue of the previous ones, were emerald green, something that proved to be more than a cosmetic change, as it saw through Loki's illusions, acting as if they weren't there. Loki managed to defeat it, driving his knife through its neck, but was shut down by the tenth Knight.

 

* * *

 

 

A lunch break was called after Loki's defeat, with the students making their way to the cafeteria. All except Laura, who Mister Dox asked to stay behind.

 

“You seemed a bit stressed up there in the observation room. Do you want to skip the test, Laura?” Mister Dox asked her, sitting down next to her. The two of them were in the hallway outside the Chamber, on one of the benches that were scattered around the Academy so that anyone injured had somewhere to sit and get medical attention. His tone was calm, and he had a small, but genuine, smile on his face. When Laura said nothing in return he didn't seem angry, he just kept smiling.

 

“You don't have to fight if you don't want to. There's always next time.” He assured her. Once again she said nothing, simply staring at the floor. After a moment she found her voice, something that Mister Dox always seemed happy to wait for.

 

“ _No, no I want to. But...”_ She trailed off, not sure what to say. She curled up a bit at that, pulling her knees to her chest, even when she actually _tried_ to talk she couldn't.

 

“ _But you don't want people to be scared of you.”_ Mister Dox answered for her, using near fluent Spanish. That was one of the things that Laura loved, while he usually used English, she had been taught the language so it wasn't a problem, he would switch to her native tongue when he thought that she needed it. Which was more often than she would admit.

 

“ _Yes.”_ She gave up looking at the floor, putting her forehead to her knees so that she could hide the tears she felt building up. Mister Dox moved closer slightly, not quite touching her, but giving silent comfort.

 

“Ok then, we'll do Molly's test and then call it a day. We can do some one on one training later, just you and me, no one else has to watch.” After a moment of thought she nodded, not trusting her voice at that moment.

 

“You should get something to eat, lunch is nearly half over already.” Mister Dox said a few moments later, standing up. As he walked away he gave a simple wave behind him, not looking the least bit annoyed at having to cancel her test.

 

 

Laura promised herself that she'd do better next time.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Molly's test was quick.

 

While she was probably the strongest student, at least in terms of pure power she could deliver in one hit, using that strength tired Molly out quickly. This meant that she while caused the most damage to her opponents, completely demolishing each one in a single hit, she only managed to last until round six before she ran out of steam and passed out.

 

* * *

 

 

A short while later found the students in the Chamber, now returned to the previous white panel appearance, as Mister Dox stood before them.

 

“Due to a slight computer glitch Laura's test will have to be postponed until further notice, I'll let you know when it's fixed.” He explained, looking at a tablet that displayed various relevant data. He could do it in his head, an AI of his skill was more than capable of it, but he liked the appearance that actually looking at the tablet gave off. “Now, the results...”

 

“Skaar. You tied with Ultron for highest ranking at sixteen. You're technique was good, but it could use some work, you left yourself open a few times, which is what led to your defeat. I recommend finding a fighting style to learn, something that takes advantage of your superior strength.” Skaar scowled a bit at the words, clearly displeased with his failure.

 

“Ultron. You tied with Skaar for highest ranking at sixteen. Your plan was good, the shield was a great idea, and you managed to adapt when your opponents worked out how to use it against you. But you could have gone much further, with time and practice you will learn to use your nanotech to open more avenues of attack. For instance you could have stopped using the shield and switched to a staff, a sword, or any number of things.” Ultron took the words in stride, having already realised most of this himself.

 

“Loki. At nine rounds you come in second. Your illusions were good, and your use of them clearly demonstrated a sharp mind. I suggest you keep practising with them, I recommend you try taking inspiration from more than just your own mind, maybe your fellow students have some good ideas.” Loki nodded in return, it sounded like a good idea. Ultron seemed smart, Loki would ask him for ideas later.

 

“Molly. At six rounds you are in last place. While you clearly have the strength needed to keep up with your peers it's obvious you can't use it for long. I want to talk to you about finding a way for you to use your power more, so you don't pass out in the middle of a fight.” Molly, who was still mostly out of it, gave a sleepy nod. Ultron, noting how tired she was, promised himself to tell her this later.

 

“Now, as I said before there is a slight glitch so Laura will have to do her test later. Your results, including the things I mentioned before, are already on your tablets, along with footage of your fights. Your tablets also contain a schedule for the Chamber, so if you want to practice simply add your name to the schedule and turn up on time. While the Chamber is automatic, please take someone with you for safety's sake. We'd hate for something to happen while you're down here alone. Now, are there any questions?” When no one stepped forward to ask anything the students were dismissed, having the rest of the day off.

 

* * *

 

 

While he put on a good face, and smiled, Vril could admit that Laura's fears weren't entirely unfounded. She ferociously ripped into her foes, giving no time for them to use whatever plan they had developed. It took nine rounds before one managed to dodge her first attack, and that one only lasted an extra few seconds. The way she fought might scare some of her classmates, but hopefully these private tests would only be temporary, and she would agree to training with her classmates around in future.

 

 

Knight after Knight fell to the young hero-to-be, each one only lasting a few seconds longer than the last. Finally Laura went down, when the program decided to send in a Paladin, the Hulk-Buster inspired Legionnaire managing to pin her before she could cause enough damage to stop it.

 

Nineteen. That's how many rounds she had managed before being defeated.

 

Sixteen, sixteen, nine, six, nineteen.

 

He could work with that.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this just kinda turned into a Laura chapter part way through writing... eh, no complaints.
> 
> This chapter mostly serves to introduce the main cast a bit, demonstrate their powers, show where they're at in terms of fighting skill (we'll be back here later to show how far they've come), remind people that the Iron Legion exists, and introduce the Artificial Reality Chamber (or ARC, for those who missed it).


End file.
